By our Correspondent
WASHINGTON, D.C. — February 24 marked the one year anniversary of the unlawful invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. Since the ground assault began, nations across Europe have been locked in an energy war with Russia, with the gas industry and some government officials recommending that the West play into Putin’s hands by continuing to rely on methane gas for fuel.
Prior to the winter of 2022-23, the gas export industry preyed on fears of fuel shortages to advance its agenda. That agenda, developed long before the invasion of Ukraine, was to expand markets for the methane gas industry and build massive gas export terminals throughout the U.S., with a concentration along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The American Petroleum Institute released a statement on the day of the invasion, claiming to be able to provide an energy supply to Europe without raising U.S. prices. A recent report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis has disproved the price claim.
Since the invasion, the oil and gas industry has exploited fears of European energy shortages to push through approvals of new gas export terminals, even though these terminals were planned long before the invasion and wouldn’t come online for years. By maximizing efficiencies in energy use and switching away from Russian supplies, however, Europe has been able to pull through the winter thus far without compromising its Ukrainian neighbors or relying on the construction of new gas export terminals in the U.S.
On Tuesday, March 14, European Climate Foundation Fellow Julian Popov, Clark Williams-Derry of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, and Constantin Zerger of Climate Action Germany will brief members of the media on how Europe is quietly winning the energy war. Each panelist will deliver a brief presentation, after which reporters will have time to ask questions.
Julian Popov, European Climate Foundation fellow, chairman of the Buildings Performance Institute of the EU, former Bulgarian Environment Minister and current presidential energy policy advisor, will explain how Europe has built strong resilience based on energy efficiency, renewables, integrated electricity market and cross border infrastructure which has successfully insulated the continent from Putin’s energy war.
Clark Williams-Derry, Energy Finance Analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and former senior analyst for the Environmental Working Group, will show how energy, chiefly methane gas, has been traded and rerouted in the past year in reaction to Russia’s invasion and resulting sanctions.
Constantin Zerger, head of energy and climate protection at Climate Action Germany (DUH), will discuss how the shocks caused by Russia’s war have impacted Europe’s approach to decarbonization and what actions taken in the past year mean for the future of the climate movement on the continent.
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